Systems, methods, and devices for implementing antenna diversity with wireless communications devices

ABSTRACT

Systems, methods, and devices enable the implementation of antenna diversity techniques. Devices include a first wireless communications device that includes a plurality of antennas, and a transceiver coupled to the plurality of antennas and configured to send and receive data in accordance with a wireless transmission protocol, while the peer wireless communication device may have a single antenna or multiple antennas. Devices also include a processor configured to, in a first mode, calculate an angle of arrival (AoA) with the plurality of antennas or an angle of departure (AoD) associated with single antenna, and, in a second mode, send data to and receive data from a second wireless communications device via at least a first antenna of the plurality of antennas, where the first antenna is selected by the processor based on one of a first plurality of signal measurements between the first and second wireless communications devices.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/227,152, filed Dec. 20, 2018, which claims the benefit under 35U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/741,387,filed on Oct. 4, 2018, all of which are incorporated by reference hereinin their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure generally relates to wireless communications devices,and more specifically, to implementation of antenna diversity techniquesassociated with such wireless communications devices.

BACKGROUND

Various devices may be capable of implementing wireless communicationsvia one or more antennas. Such wireless communications may beimplemented using communications modems that include transceiversconfigured in accordance with one or more transmission protocols, suchas a Bluetooth protocol. Accordingly, such devices may be configured tocommunicate via a communications network in accordance with suchprotocols. Such devices may include multiple antennas that may be usedfor transmitting and/or receiving. Accordingly, devices may includeantenna arrays. However, to reduce cost and power consumption, as wellas the complexity of the modem in the devices, a switched antenna arraymay be connected to the device is preferred. However, such devices arelimited in their ability to identify to which antenna should be used forreceiving and/or transmitting data. Moreover, such devices are limitedin their ability to effectively transmit and receive data because theyare not able to efficiently select which antenna should be used.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a system for implementing an antennadiversity technique, configured in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates another example of a system for implementing anantenna diversity technique, configured in accordance with variousembodiments.

FIG. 3 illustrates yet another example of a system for implementing anantenna diversity technique, configured in accordance with variousembodiments.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a device for implementing an antennadiversity technique, configured in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 5 illustrates another example of a system for implementing anantenna diversity technique, configured in accordance with variousembodiments.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a method for an antenna diversitytechnique, implemented in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 7 illustrates another example of a method for an antenna diversitytechnique, implemented in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 8 illustrates yet another example of a method for an antennadiversity technique, implemented in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 9 illustrates an additional example of a method for an antennadiversity technique, implemented in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 10 illustrates a further example of a method for an antennadiversity technique, implemented in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 11 illustrates another example of a method for an antenna diversitytechnique, implemented in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example of a data packet, configured inaccordance with various embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth inorder to provide a thorough understanding of the presented concepts. Thepresented concepts may be practiced without some or all of thesespecific details. In other instances, well known process operations havenot been described in detail so as to not unnecessarily obscure thedescribed concepts. While some concepts will be described in conjunctionwith the specific examples, it will be understood that these examplesare not intended to be limiting.

Some wireless communications devices are limited in their ability toimplement antenna diversity techniques. For example, they may utilizeexcessive amounts of processing hardware to implement such diversitytechniques, as they may require complex radio receivers and complexbaseband processing. Such techniques are not compatible with low energyapplications and protocols. Accordingly, such techniques cannot beeffectively and efficiently implemented in such low energy electronicsand devices.

Embodiments disclosed herein provide antenna diversity techniques thatmay be implemented in low energy devices, and in a manner compatiblewith low energy protocols, such as Bluetooth and Bluetooth Low Energy.As will be discussed in greater detail below, a designated portion of ahandling of a data packet may be used to obtain signals measurements forantennas of a wireless communications device, and such measurements maybe used to identify and select a best antenna to use for communication.As will also be discussed in greater detail below, antenna diversitytechniques disclosed herein may be compatible with Angle of Arrival(AoA) and Angle of Departure (AoD) calculations such that antennadiversity and AoA or AoD may be implemented concurrently in low energyelectronics and devices.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a system for implementing an antennadiversity technique, configured in accordance with various embodiments.In various embodiments, systems, such as system 100, include variousdevices, such as first device 102 and second device 120, which may bewireless communications devices. Accordingly, such devices areconfigured to communicate with each other via one or more wirelesstransmission protocols via a communications network, such as network136. As will be discussed in greater detail below, such a wirelesstransmission protocol may be a Bluetooth protocol or a Bluetooth LowEnergy (BLE) protocol. While various embodiments disclosed herein arediscussed with reference to Bluetooth and Bluetooth Low Energyspecifications, it will be appreciated that any suitable specificationand/protocol may be implemented. For example, systems, devices, andmethods disclosed herein may be implemented with Zigbee, LoRa, or anyother protocol or specification compatible with low cost communicationsdevices.

Accordingly, first device 102 may include host processor 104, and mayalso include a memory device, such as memory 106, coupled to hostprocessor 104 as well as other components of first device 102. Invarious embodiments, memory 106 may include nonvolatile memory 108 andvolatile memory 110. In some embodiments, host processor 104 and memory106 may be implemented as a single component on a single chip.Accordingly, while FIG. 1 illustrates one example of host processor 104and memory 106, various different configurations are contemplated anddisclosed herein. First device 102 may further include multipleantennas, such as antenna 132, which are configured to transmit andreceive signals from first device 102 in accordance with thetransmission protocols noted above.

In various embodiments, first device 102 may include multiple antennasand may be configured to implement AoA and AoD calculations, such asthose that may be implemented during spatial location determinationtechniques. For example, first device 102 may be configured to acquireIQ samples of signals received at each of its antennas. First device 102may be further configured to calculate the AoA based on a difference inphase of the acquired samples. Similarly, first device 102 may beconfigured to transmit a signal from each of its antennas, and anotherdevice, such as second device 120, may be configured to receive thesignals and determine the AoD based on a difference in phase.Accordingly, first device 102 includes antennas such as antenna 132 andis configured to determine a direction of propagation of aradio-frequency (RF) wave arriving at the antennas, as well ascommunicate with other devices to determine a direction of propagationof RF waves departing the antennas.

As will be discussed in greater detail below, first device 102 andsecond device 120 may be further configured to implement various antennadiversity techniques disclosed herein to identify and select aparticular antenna for transmission and/or reception of a data packet orframe. For example, first device 102 may be configured to cycle throughits antennas to determine a best antenna to use for communication withanother device, such as second device 120. In some embodiments, firstdevice 102 is configured to test a signal strength and/or signal qualityfor each of its antennas during handling of a particular or designatedperiod of data transmission. Accordingly, the signal measurementsdisclosed herein may be made during the handling and processingoperations corresponding to a particular portion of a data packet.

For example, when first device 102 is configured as a Bluetooth or BLEdevice, first device 102 may test a signal strength for each of itsantennas during a continuous tone extension (CTE) period, which may alsobe referred to herein as a supplemental period. As will be discussed ingreater detail below, various information, such as a connection linkidentifier and a frequency channel number, may be retrieved and storedto identify and select an appropriate antenna based on one or moresignal parameters. In this way, first device 102 is configured toutilize a designated portion of data transmission, which may be aportion of the transmission of a data packet or frame, to implementantenna diversity techniques disclosed herein and discussed in greaterdetail below. It will be appreciated that the antenna diversitytechniques disclosed herein may be implemented concurrently with thepreviously described AoA and AoD calculations. In this way, the signalstransmitted during the CTE period may be utilized for both AoA or AoD,and antenna diversity purposes.

As noted above, system 100 further includes second device 120 whichincludes host processor 122, and also includes memory 124 coupled tohost processor 120 as well as other components of second device 120. Invarious embodiments, memory 124 may include nonvolatile memory 126 andvolatile memory 128. Second device 120 may further include multipleantennas, such as antenna 134, which are configured to transmit andreceive signals from second device 120 in accordance with thetransmission protocols noted above. As similarly discussed above, seconddevice 120 may include multiple antennas and may be configured toimplement Angle of Arrival (AoA) and Angle of Departure (AoD)calculations, such as those that may be implemented during spatiallocation determination techniques. As also noted above, and will bediscussed in further detail below, second device 120 may be furtherconfigured to implement various antenna diversity techniques disclosedherein to identify and select a particular antenna for transmissionand/or reception of a data packet or frame. For example, second device120 may be configured to cycle through its antennas to determine a bestantenna to use for receiving data from another device, such as firstdevice 102.

FIG. 2 illustrates another example of a system for implementing anantenna diversity technique, configured in accordance with variousembodiments. As discussed above, system 100 may include first device 102and second device 120 which may communicate via network 136. As alsodiscussed above, first device 102 may include host processor 104 andmemory 106 which may include nonvolatile memory 108 and volatile memory110. First device 102 may further include modem 112, switch 114, as wellas antennas such as antenna 132. Moreover, second device 120 may includehost processor 122 and memory 124 which may include nonvolatile memory126 and volatile memory 128. Second device 120 may further include modem130 and antenna 134.

As shown in FIG. 2, first device 102 has multiple antennas and seconddevice 120 has a single antenna. Accordingly, as will be discussed ingreater detail below, first device 102 may be configured to cyclethrough each of the antennas to test a signal strength with antenna 134of second device 120. Such determination of signal strength may beimplemented during a designated period of transmission of data, such asa CTE period. As will also be discussed in greater detail below,different antennas of first device 102 may be used to transmit test dataor signals, such as a continuous tone, from first device 102 to seconddevice 120, and a signal strength may be measured for each antenna.Moreover, additional information may be stored as well, such as aconnection link identifier and a frequency channel identifier, and suchadditional information may be used to index and store the measured data.In various embodiments, second device 120 is configured to return theresults to first device 102, and first device 102 is configured toselect a particular antenna based on the results. Accordingly, theselected antenna may be used to transmit the next data packet or frame.

FIG. 3 illustrates yet another example of a system for implementing anantenna diversity technique, configured in accordance with variousembodiments. As discussed above, system 100 may include first device 102and second device 120 which may communicate via network 136. As alsodiscussed above, first device 102 may include host processor 104 andmemory 106 which may include nonvolatile memory 108 and volatile memory110. First device 102 may further include modem 112 and antenna 132.Moreover, second device 120 may include host processor 122 and memory124 which may include nonvolatile memory 126 and volatile memory 128.Second device 120 may further include modem 130, switch 131, as well asantennas such as and antenna 134.

As shown in FIG. 3, second device 120 has multiple antennas and firstdevice 102 has a single antenna. In this example, as will be discussedin greater detail below, second device 120 is configured to cyclethrough each of the antennas to test a signal strength with antenna 132of second device 120. As noted above, such determination of signalstrength may be implemented during a designated period of transmissionof data, such as a CTE period. Accordingly, in this example, antenna 132of first device 102 may be used to transmit data to second device 120,and second device 120 is configured to cycle through its antennas toreceive the data at each of its antennas. Accordingly, a signal strengthmay be measured for each antenna, as well as additional information suchas a connection link identifier and a frequency channel identifier. Invarious embodiments, second device 120 is configured to select aparticular antenna based on the results, and the selected antenna may beused to receive the next data packet or frame transmitted by firstdevice 102.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a device for implementing an antennadiversity technique, configured in accordance with various embodiments.As discussed above, first device 102 may include host processor 104 andmemory 106 which may include nonvolatile memory 108 and volatile memory110. First device 102 may further include modem 112, switch 114, andantennas such as antenna 132. Accordingly, switch 114 is configured toselectively couple and decouple antennas such as antenna 132 to othercomponents of first device 102, such as modem 112.

In various embodiments, modem 112 includes various components such ascommunications interface 144 which is configured to managecommunications with other components, such as memory 106 and hostprocessor 104. Modem 112 further includes processor 142 and memory unit140 which are configured to implement processing operations associatedwith the transmission and reception of data in accordance with one ormore transmission protocols, such as Bluetooth and BLE. In variousembodiments, processor 142 and memory unit 140 are further configured toimplement the antenna diversity operations discussed above and ingreater detail below. More specifically, processor 142 may be configuredto handle the selection of different antennas during antenna diversityoperations, store antenna diversity data in memory unit 140, as well asselect a particular antenna to be used for transmission or reception ofa next data packet or frame. In some embodiments, processor 142 may alsobe configured to store such data in memory 106.

As will be discussed in greater detail below, antenna diversity data mayinclude various entries for each antenna, and the data entries mayinclude various values for various parameters. For example, such antennadiversity data entries may include antenna identifiers, signalmeasurements, connection link identifiers, as well as the frequencychannel identifiers. Accordingly, the antenna diversity data may beindexed based on the connection link identifier and the frequencychannel identifier such that they are indexed and organized based on anantenna identifier, a connection link identifier, and a frequencychannel identifier. Moreover, the antenna diversity data may includevarious other entries for other parameters as well. For example, theantenna diversity data may also include a status identifier for eachantenna. In some embodiments, the status identifier may identify one ormore operational parameters of the antenna, and may further identify astatus associated with such operational parameters. In one example, astatus identifier may identify a status of an antenna's connectivity orgains. Accordingly, the status identifier may identify a “low gain”status, a “broken” status, or a “connection loss” status. In someembodiments, a component, such as processor 142, may be configured togenerate such status identifiers based on previous signal measurements.Accordingly, if one or more conditions is measured and observed,processor 142 may generate the appropriate status identifier. In oneexample, if a particular antenna consistently has signal measurementswith a signal strength or signal quality below a designated threshold,or a beyond a designated amount below an average of all antennas, theantenna may be assigned a status of “low gain”. Accordingly, such statusidentifiers may be generated and used for antenna selection,deselection, exclusion, and/or removal from a pool, as will be discussedin greater detail below.

In various embodiments, modem 112 further includes transceiver 146 whichis configured to transmit and/or receive data using antennas such asantenna 132. Accordingly, transceiver 146 may include a modulator anddemodulator configured to modulate and demodulate data packets inaccordance with transmission protocols disclosed herein, and such datamay be transmitted and/or received via antennas such as antenna 132.While FIG. 4 illustrates additional features of first device 102 andmodem 112, it will be appreciated that such additional features may beincluded in second device 120 as well as modem 130. Furthermore, whileFIG. 4 illustrates one example of first device 102, it will beappreciated that first device 102 as well as other devices describedherein may be implemented with multiple radios and multiple modemsimplemented for different transmission protocols. Accordingly, signalmeasurements may be taken by multiple modems, and a best antenna may beselected based on a combination of such measurements. Moreover, multipletypes of measurements may be used to select antennas. For example, acombination of measures of signal strength as well as signal quality maybe used. More specifically, an average of measures may be used for eachantenna if multiple measurements are available from previous iterationsof antenna diversity operations. Moreover, the combination of themeasures may be weighted. For example, a measure of signal strength mayhave a higher weight than signal quality for some communications links,and may have a lower weight than signal quality for other communicationslinks.

Further still, various components of first device 102 may be implementedon one or more integrated circuit chips. For example, components offirst device 102 may be implemented on a single integrated chip. Inanother example, components of modem 112 may be implemented on a singleintegrated chip that is coupled to other components of first device 102.In various embodiments, such integrated circuit chips may be monolithicchips. Moreover, such chips may be compatible with and configured toimplement Bluetooth Low Energy specifications and requirements.Furthermore, while FIG. 4 illustrates processor 142 implemented withinmodem 112, it will be appreciated that processor 142 may be implementedseparately from modem 112.

FIG. 5 illustrates another example of a system for implementing anantenna diversity technique, configured in accordance with variousembodiments. As noted above, a system may include various devices, suchas first device 102 and second device 120. As shown in FIG. 5, system500 may be configured to include multiple devices in communication witheach other via a network, such as network 136. Accordingly, first device102 may be configured to communicate with second device 120 as well asthird device 502. In this example, first device 102 is configured toimplement antenna diversity operations disclosed herein with referenceto second device 120 as well as third device 502. For example, firstdevice 102 is configured to select a first antenna for communicationwith second device 120 based on antenna diversity operations performedwith second device 120. Moreover, first device 102 is configured toselect a second antenna for communication with third device 502 based onantenna diversity operations performed with third device 502. In variousembodiments, the antenna diversity operations performed are implementedduring the same CTE period such that multiple determinations are madeduring a single CTE period. In this example, the first antenna may thenbe used to transmit a next data packet or frame to second device 120,and the second antenna may then be used to transmit a next data packetor frame to third device 502. Details of the antenna diversityoperations are discussed in greater detail below.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a method for an antenna diversitytechnique, implemented in accordance with various embodiments. Asdiscussed above, devices disclosed herein may be configured to implementvarious AoA as well as AoD determinations. Furthermore, such devices maybe configured to implement antenna diversity techniques to identify andselect a particular antenna for transmission and/or reception of data toand from the device. Accordingly, signal strengths and/or signalqualities may be tested and measured for various different combinationsof connection links and frequency channels, and a particular antenna maybe selected based on such measurements.

Accordingly, method 600 may commence with operation 602 during which aconnection state may be transitioned to. In various embodiments, devicesthat include antennas, as described above, may be in an “advertisingstate” in which data is broadcast from a device to any other device thatis in range. Accordingly, during such a state, there might not be anestablished communications link until another device responds to thebroadcast. Accordingly, during operation 602, a communications link maybe established, and a device may transition from an advertising state toa connection state. During the transition to the connection state,various connection information may be stored, such as device identifiersand a connection link identifier.

Method 600 may proceed to operation 604 during which a signalmeasurement may be acquired for each antenna of a wirelesscommunications device. As noted above, such a device may includemultiple antennas, which may be implemented as an array of antennas, anda signal measurement may be acquired for each antenna. In one example,the measurements may be made based on data transmitted from anotherdevice, and the measurements may be made during a CTE period of datatransmission. Accordingly, a signal measurement may be made for eachantenna used to receive such transmitted data. In various embodiments,each antenna has a particular beam shape or form, as may be determinedbased on a variety of parameters, such as orientation. Accordingly, themeasurements may be used identify a quality of a beam for each antennaso that the antenna with the best beam may be selected. Morespecifically, the signal measurement may be a measurement of signalstrength, such as a received signal strength indicator (RSSI)measurement. In various embodiments, the signal measurement may be ameasurement of signal quality, such as asignal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) measurement. In variousembodiments, an antenna identifier may also be stored for each signalmeasurement to identify the antenna that was used to make themeasurement.

In various embodiments, additional data may be identified and stored aswell. For example, a connection link identifier may be identified, wheresuch a connection link identifier is configured to identify devicesassociated with the connection being tested. In one example, the devicesmay be first device 102 and second device 120 discussed above.Accordingly, an identifier associated with the connection link undertest may be retrieved and/or generated. Moreover, a frequency channelidentifier may also be identified and stored. In various embodiments,the frequency channel identifier is configured to identify a frequencyor frequency band that is being tested. In various embodiments, devicesare configured to implement frequency hopping in which multiplefrequencies or frequency bands are cycled through as specified by acommunications protocol. Thus, paired devices in a communication linkmay cycle through frequency bands, and antenna diversity data may bestored and utilized for each frequency band. Accordingly, the signalmeasurement, the connection link identifier, as well as the frequencychannel identifier may be stored as antenna diversity data. In someembodiments, the antenna diversity data may be indexed based on theconnection link identifier and the frequency channel identifier. In thisway, signal measurements may be stored in a manner that is indexed andorganized based on a connection link identifier and a frequency channelidentifier. As noted above, the antenna diversity data may store suchdata for multiple connection links with multiple devices.

Method 600 may proceed to operation 606 during which the signalmeasurements may be sorted based on one or more signal parameters. Forexample, if the signal measurements are SINR measurements, they may besorted in ascending or descending order and stored again in the antennadiversity data. In some embodiments, the signal measurements may also befiltered. For example, measurements under a designated threshold valuemay be discarded. In this way, the measurement data including the signalmeasurements may be sorted such that they are ordered based on a signalstrength or signal quality. In various embodiments, additionaloperations may be implemented as well. For example, if there aremultiple measurements for a particular antenna for a particularconnection link and frequency channel, those measurements may becombined and/or averaged to obtain a single result that is stored asantenna diversity data.

Method 600 may proceed to operation 608 during which a best result and abest antenna may be identified. Thus, according to various embodiments,a best result may be identified based on the sorted measurements. Forexample, if the signal measurements are SINR measurements, once sorted,the diversity data entry having the highest or largest SINR measurementmay be selected. Accordingly, a highest signal quality measurement or ahighest signal strength measurement may be used to identify an antenna.Furthermore, the antenna identifier stored with the signal measurementmay be used to identify a best antenna. According to some embodiments,the antenna may be selected based on comparisons of the signalmeasurements with designated thresholds. Accordingly, signalmeasurements may be compared to threshold values that may have been setby a manufacturer or a user, and an antenna may be selected based on thecomparison. Accordingly, as disclosed herein, the description of a bestantenna may refer to an antenna selected using any of the previouslymentioned techniques. In various embodiments, other antenna informationcan also be utilized to identify and select a best antenna, such as anantenna connection condition, a channel fading condition, as well as anyother suitable channel information or data.

Method 600 may proceed to operation 610 during which the identifiedantenna may be utilized for subsequent data communication. In an examplewhere the device is receiving data, the identified antenna may be usedto receive the next data packet or frame. In another example where thedevice is transmitting data, the identified antenna may be used totransmit the next data packet or frame. Furthermore, if the devicetransitions back to an advertising state, the identified antenna may beused for broadcasting during the advertising state. In this way, antennadiversity data used to select a particular antenna may be leveraged andused to enhance communications implemented in a connection state, aswell as an advertising state. It will be appreciated that additionaliterations of method 600, as well as the additional methods describedbelow, may be implemented for subsequent transmissions of subsequentdata packets. Accordingly, the best antenna is continually selecteddespite changing conditions, such as movement of the device as well aschanges in a frequency band as may occur during frequency hopping.Additional details regarding the selection of antennas andimplementations of antenna diversity techniques are discussed in greaterdetail with reference to FIGS. 7-11 below.

FIG. 7 illustrates another example of a method for an antenna diversitytechnique, implemented in accordance with various embodiments. Asdiscussed above, devices disclosed herein may be configured to implementantenna diversity techniques to identify and select a particular antennafor transmission and/or reception of data to and from the device. Aswill be discussed in greater detail below, such techniques may be usedto handle antenna diversity operations for multiple connection linkswith multiple devices and in accordance with various transmissionprotocols, and the discussion below further describes how suchtechniques may be used for receive events.

Accordingly, method 700 may commence with operation 702 during which acurrent antenna identifier and antenna diversity data may be retrievedin response to a receive event being identified. Accordingly, a receiveevent may be identified indicating that data is to be received at awireless communications device. In various embodiments, the receiveevent may be identified based, at least in part, on a timer that istriggered in the modem. Accordingly, the timing of the receive event maybe scheduled in accordance with a communications protocol, and may, insome embodiments, be triggered based on an initial data value received.Moreover, in some embodiments, the retrieving of the current antennaidentifier and antenna diversity data may occur after a transition froman advertising state to a connection state. In response to identifyingthe receive event, a current antenna may be identified, and antennadiversity data may be queried. In some embodiments, the query may beimplemented based on a connection link identifier as well as a frequencychannel identifier, and the current antenna identifier may be retrievedfrom memory based on previously stored data associated with a lasttransmission or reception operation. In various embodiments, the antennadiversity data may also store other antenna information as well. Forexample, such additional antenna information may include statusidentifiers that have been generated by modems described above. Suchstatus identifiers may identify statuses such as a broken or problematicantenna, and such identifications may be made based on an observeddegradation in gain, or consistently poor signal strength and/or qualitymeasurements.

Moreover, according to some embodiments, an antenna position may also bedetermined based on available geolocation data or any other suitablesource. For example, the wireless communications device may havegeolocation hardware and software configured to provide a location ofthe wireless communications device and the antenna when a measurement ismade. Such a location may be identified and retrieved as an antennaposition. In some embodiments, the wireless communications device may beconfigured to be communicatively coupled to other system components thatmay have such geolocation hardware and software, as may be the case in acar or vehicle. Moreover, in some embodiments, the current antennainformation may also refer to an identified orientation of the antenna,such as a direction the antenna was last facing. Such directions may becardinal directions, such as north south, east, and west, or may berepresented as numerical bearings.

Method 700 may proceed to operation 704 during which it may bedetermined if the data entry in the antenna diversity data is NULL. Insome embodiments, there might not be existing antenna diversity data,and the entry might be NULL. For example, as part of an initializationprocess of the wireless communications device, all entries may have beenset to NULL. If the entry is NULL, method 700 may proceed to operation706 during which a reference antenna may be identified and selected.Accordingly, the reference antenna may be a predetermined antenna thatmay be used as a default antenna. If the entry is not NULL, method 700may proceed to operation 708.

Accordingly, during operation 708, a current time and a time parametermay be identified. Accordingly, a current time may be determined fromany suitable source within the wireless communications device. Forexample, the current time may be determined based on time stamp datareceived from a time stamp unit or from a system clock. Moreover, a timeparameter may be determined based on a difference between the currenttime and a time when the antenna diversity data entry was generated, asmay be identified by a time stamp generated and stored with the antennadiversity data entry.

Method 700 may proceed to operation 710 during which it may bedetermined if the time parameter is less than a channel coherence time.Accordingly, a channel coherence time may be determined based on afrequency and bandwidth of the frequency channel that is being used. Invarious embodiments, the channel coherence time may also be determinedbased on a movement speed of the antenna and the wireless communicationsdevice. The time parameter may be compared with the channel coherencetime to determine if it is less than or greater than the channelcoherence time. In various embodiments, implementing such a comparisonensures that the antenna diversity data that is being used is not tooold and is still accurate. If the time parameter is greater than thechannel coherence time, method 700 may proceed to operation 712 wherethe entry is set to NULL, and method 700 may proceed to operation 706.If the time parameter is less than a channel coherence time, than method700 may proceed to operation 714 which is discussed in greater detailbelow.

In various embodiments, operations 708 and 710 may be implementedoptionally, and/or in response to one or more other conditions orparameters. For example, operations 708 and 710 may be implemented inresponse to identifying a speed of the wireless communications device isgreater than a designated threshold, or in response to identifying oneor more applications has been executed on the wireless communicationsdevice, or with a computer system coupled to the wireless communicationsdevice. For example, if the wireless communications device isimplemented in a car, and such parameter data may be retrieved from acomputer system of the car which may have access to speed information aswell as the execution of an application, such as a navigationapplication.

Method 700 may proceed to operation 714 during which it may bedetermined if the current antenna is the same as a best antenna. Asnoted above, the current antenna may be determined based on an antennaused with the above described receive event. The best antenna may bedetermined based on the available antenna diversity data. If it isdetermined that the current antenna is not the same as the best antenna,method 700 may proceed to operation 716 where the best antenna isselected. If it is determined that the current antenna is the bestantenna, method 700 may proceed to operation 718.

During operation 718, it may be determined if there is an AC match. Invarious embodiments, the determination of whether or not there is an ACmatch may be implemented in response to an AC comparison event, and maybe determined based on a comparison of address codes. Accordingly, anaccess address code (AC) included in the data packet may be comparedwith an access address code of the device that includes the antennas toensure that the data packet is intended for the device. If it isdetermined that there isn't an AC match, method 700 may proceed tooperation 720 during which the selected antenna may be removed from theantenna diversity data entry. If it is determined that there is an ACmatch, method 700 may proceed to operation 722. As similarly discussedabove, such removal of the antenna from the antenna diversity data entrymay also be applied to operations performed in an advertising state aswell thus enhancing antenna selection for the advertising state.

During operation 722, it may be determined if a CP (CTE info present) orcalled SP (supplemental present) bit has a value of “1”. In variousembodiments, such a determination may be made based on one or more datavalues included in a header of the received data packet. If it isdetermined that the SP bit does not have a value of “1”, method 700 mayterminate. If it is determined that the SP bit has a value of “1”,method 700 may proceed to operation 724.

During operation 724, a signal measurement may be retrieved from a CTEfield of the received data packet. As noted above, the signalmeasurement may be a RSSI or SINR. Moreover, during operation 726, thesignal measurements may be sorted as described above, and duringoperation 728, the sorted signal measurements may be stored as antennadiversity data.

As similarly discussed above, it will be appreciated that additionaliterations of method 700, as well as the methods 800, 900, 1000, and1100 described below, may be implemented for subsequent transmissions ofsubsequent data packets. Accordingly, the best antenna is continuallyselected despite changing conditions, such as movement of the device aswell as changes in a frequency band as may occur during frequencyhopping.

FIG. 8 illustrates yet another example of a method for an antennadiversity technique, implemented in accordance with various embodiments.As noted above, devices with multiple antennas disclosed herein may beconfigured to implement antenna diversity techniques to identify andselect a particular antenna for transmission and/or reception of data toand from the device. Accordingly, signal strengths and/or signalqualities may be tested and measured for various different combinationsof connection links and frequency channels, and a particular antenna maybe selected based on such measurements.

Accordingly, method 800 may commence with operation 802 during which aCTE period of a transmission protocol may begin. As noted above, such aperiod may occur during a designated portion of a transmission andreception of a data packet which may be a Bluetooth Low Energy datapacket. Thus, according to various embodiments, a Bluetooth Low Energydata packet may be received, and a CTE period may begin.

Method 800 may proceed to operation 804 during which a signalmeasurement may be taken for each antenna of a wireless communicationsdevice. In various embodiments, such signal measurements may beimplemented in addition to AoA operations and calculations during a CTEperiod. Accordingly, the wireless communications device that isreceiving the data packet may cycle through its antennas and measure asignal strength for each of its antennas as the other device transmitssignals in a manner consistent with the communications protocol beingused. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the wirelesscommunications device that is transmitting the data packet is configuredto transmit test data or signals for each antenna measurement during theCTE period. In various embodiments, the signals may be a continuous tonethat is transmitted throughout the CTE period. As noted above, thesignal measurement may be a measure of signal strength and/or quality,as may be represented by RSSI and SINR measurements. Moreover,additional data may be captured as well for each measurement, such as acommunications link identifier, a frequency channel identifier, a timestamp, as well as antenna position data.

Method 800 may proceed to operation 806 during which the signalmeasurements may be sorted. As noted above, the signal measurements maybe indexed based on channel link identifiers and frequency channelidentifiers, and may be sorted based on the signal measurements. Thesorted results may be stored as antenna diversity data.

Method 800 may proceed to operation 808 during which a best antenna maybe identified. Accordingly, an antenna with a best signal measurement,such as a greatest signal strength or signal quality, may be identifiedbased on the sorted results. As discussed above with reference to FIG.7, additional data associated with the antennas, such as position dataand time data, may also be retrieved and used to identify the bestantenna.

Method 800 may proceed to operation 810 during which the best antennamay be selected as a receive antenna for a next received data packet.Accordingly, the antenna identified during operation 808 may be used asthe receive antenna for a next receive event for a next data packetreceived at the wireless communications device.

Moreover, in some embodiments, method 800 may proceed to operation 812during which during which the best antenna may be selected as a transmitantenna for a next transmitted data packet. Accordingly, if the nextevent is a transmit event in which the wireless communications devicewill transmit instead of receive a data packet, the identified antennamay be used for a next transmit event for a next data packet transmittedby the wireless communications device.

FIG. 9 illustrates an additional example of a method for an antennadiversity technique, implemented in accordance with various embodiments.As noted above, devices disclosed herein may be configured to implementantenna diversity techniques to identify and select a particular antennafor transmission and/or reception of data to and from the device. Aswill be discussed in greater detail below, such methods may beimplemented where a first wireless communications device used totransmit and receive data has multiple antennas, a second wirelesscommunications device receiving and transmitting the data has a singleantenna, and antenna diversity techniques disclosed herein are used toidentify and select a best transmit and receive antenna in, for example,a first device.

Accordingly, method 900 may commence with operation 902 during which anantenna diversity request may be sent to a peer device. Accordingly, afirst wireless communications device may send an antenna diversityrequest to a peer device, such as a second wireless communicationsdevice. In various embodiments, the antenna diversity request isconfigured to ready the second wireless communications device toimplement at least some of the antenna diversity operations describedbelow, and synchronize the implementation of such operations. In variousembodiments, the request may be sent in accordance with a communicationsprotocol. Accordingly, the contents and timing of the request may bespecified by the communications protocol.

Method 900 may proceed to operation 904 during which a CTE period of atransmission protocol may begin. As noted above, such a period may be adesignated portion of a transmission and reception of a data packetwhich may be a Bluetooth Low Energy data packet. Thus, according tovarious embodiments, a Bluetooth Low Energy data packet may betransmitted to initiate the antenna diversity request described abovewith reference to operation 902, and a CTE period, in which alternatingantennas are alternated/cycled to transmit a continuous tone from thefirst device, may already have begun, or may subsequently begin duringwhich one or more measurements may be made at the second device.

Accordingly, method 900 may proceed to operation 906 during which asignal measurement may be made in the second device for each antennaused in the first device during the CTE period. In various embodiments,such signal measurements may be implemented in addition to AoDoperations and calculations. Accordingly, the first wirelesscommunications device may cycle through its antennas and transmit acontinuous tone signal or test data for each antenna during the CTEperiod. The second wireless communications device may receive the datafrom each antenna at its own antenna, and may measure a signal strengthand/or quality for each of the first device antennas. As previouslydiscussed, additional data may be captured as well for each measurement,such as a communications link identifier, a frequency channelidentifier, a time stamp, as well as antenna position data.

Method 900 may proceed to operation 908 during which the signalmeasurements may be sorted. As noted above, the signal measurements maybe indexed based on channel link identifiers and frequency channelidentifiers, and may be sorted based on the signal measurements. Thesorted results may be stored as antenna diversity data. In variousembodiments, the sorted results may be stored at the second wirelesscommunications device.

Method 900 may proceed to operation 910 during which a best antenna maybe identified. Accordingly, an antenna with a best signal measurement,such as a greatest signal strength or signal quality, may be identifiedbased on the sorted results. As discussed above with reference to FIG.7, additional data associated with the antennas, such as position dataand time data, may also be retrieved and used to identify the bestantenna.

Method 900 may proceed to operation 912 during which a feedback path maybe used to return a best result that includes an identification of thebest antenna. In various embodiments, the feedback path is a feedbackreturn channel between the second wireless communications device and thefirst wireless communications device, and such a feedback return channelmay be defined by a communications protocol. Accordingly, the secondwireless communications device may return a result to the first wirelesscommunications device that identifies a best antenna.

Method 900 may proceed to operation 914 during which the identified bestantenna may be used as a transmit/receive antenna. Accordingly, thefirst wireless communications device may use the identified best antennaas a transmit/receive antenna to transmit/receive a next data packet orframe to/from the second wireless communications device. In this way, abest transmit/receive antenna may be identified and used for thecommunications link and frequency channel used by the first and secondwireless communications devices.

FIG. 10 illustrates a further example of a method for an antennadiversity technique, implemented in accordance with various embodiments.As noted above, devices disclosed herein may be configured to implementmethods where a first wireless communications device used totransmit/receive data has multiple antennas, a second wirelesscommunications device receiving/transmitting the data has a singleantenna, and antenna diversity techniques disclosed herein are used toidentify and select a best transmit/receive antenna. As disclosed below,a feedback return channel is not utilized.

Accordingly, method 1000 may commence with operation 1002 during whichan antenna diversity request may be sent to a peer device. As notedabove, a first wireless communications device may send an antennadiversity request to a peer device, such as a second wirelesscommunications device. In various embodiments, the antenna diversityrequest is configured to ready the second wireless communications deviceto implement at least some of the antenna diversity operations describedbelow, and synchronize the implementation of such operations. As will bediscussed in greater detail below, the antenna diversity request mayspecifically request the peer device to send AoA supplemental data orCTE data in a reverse (uplink) direction.

Method 1000 may proceed to operation 1004 during which a CTE period of atransmission protocol may begin. As noted above, such a period may be adesignated portion of a transmission and reception of a data packetwhich may be a Bluetooth Low Energy data packet. Thus, according tovarious embodiments, a Bluetooth Low Energy data packet may betransmitted to initiate the antenna diversity request described abovewith reference to operation 1002, and a CTE period may subsequentlybegin during which one or more measurements may be made.

Method 1000 may proceed to operation 1006 during which a signalmeasurement may be made for each antenna. Thus, in accordance with therequest described above, the second wireless communications device maytransmit test or CTE sample data to the first wireless communicationsdevice, and the first wireless communications device may cycle throughits antennas and receive the CTE signal or test data at each antenna.The first wireless communications device may measure a signal strengthand/or quality for each of the antennas. As previously discussed,additional data may be captured as well for each measurement, such as acommunications link identifier, a frequency channel identifier, a timestamp, as well as antenna position data.

Method 1000 may proceed to operation 1008 during which the signalmeasurements may be sorted. As noted above, the signal measurements maybe indexed based on channel link identifiers and frequency channelidentifiers, and may be sorted based on the signal measurements. Thesorted results may be stored as antenna diversity data. In variousembodiments, the sorted results may be stored at the first wirelesscommunications device.

Method 1000 may proceed to operation 1010 during which a best antennamay be identified. Accordingly, an antenna with a best signalmeasurement, such as a greatest signal strength or signal quality, maybe identified based on the sorted results. As discussed above withreference to FIG. 7, additional data associated with the antennas, suchas position data and time data, may also be retrieved and used toidentify the best antenna.

Method 1000 may proceed to operation 1012 during which the identifiedbest antenna may be used as a transmit/receive antenna. Accordingly, thefirst wireless communications device may use the identified best antennaas a transmit/receive antenna to transmit/receive a next data packet orframe to/from the second wireless communications device. In this way, abest transmit/receive antenna may be identified and used for thecommunications link and frequency channel used by the first and secondwireless communications devices.

FIG. 11 illustrates another example of a method for an antenna diversitytechnique, implemented in accordance with various embodiments. Aspreviously discussed, devices disclosed herein may be configured toimplement antenna diversity techniques that are used to identify andselect a best transmit/receive antenna. Furthermore, such techniques maybe implemented in a variety of wireless communications modes, such asthose utilized by legacy BR/EDR Bluetooth modes.

Accordingly, method 1100 may commence with operation 1102 during which achannel sounding frame may be requested from a peer device. As similarlydescribed above, a first wireless communications device may send therequest for a channel sounding frame to a peer device, such as a secondwireless communications device. In various embodiments, the request isconfigured to cause the second wireless communications device to sendthe frame to the first wireless communications device. In variousembodiments, the peer device might not support the transmission of achannel sounding frame. In such situations, the first device can requestthe peer device to retransmit a known packet frame and use it as channelsounding frame. For example, the first device can use negativeacknowledgement (NAK) (or not ACK) message after a packet frame isreceived correctly (e.g., passed its CRC check) to make the peer deviceact as though the previously transmitted frame needs retransmission.

Method 1100 may proceed to operation 1104 during which a signalmeasurement may be made in channel sounding frame for each antenna. Asdiscussed above, such signal measurements may be measurements of asignal strength and/or quality for each of the antennas. As previouslydiscussed, additional data may be captured as well for each measurement,such as a communications link identifier, a frequency channelidentifier, a time stamp, as well as antenna position data.

Method 1100 may proceed to operation 1106 during which the signalmeasurements may be sorted. As noted above, the signal measurements maybe indexed based on channel link identifiers and frequency channelidentifiers, and may be sorted based on the signal measurements. Thesorted results may be stored as antenna diversity data. In variousembodiments, the sorted results may be stored at the first wirelesscommunications device.

Method 1100 may proceed to operation 1108 during which a best antennamay be identified. Accordingly, an antenna with a best signalmeasurement, such as a greatest signal strength or signal quality, maybe identified based on the sorted results. As previously discussed,additional data associated with the antennas, such as position data andtime data, may also be retrieved and used to identify the best antenna.

Method 1100 may proceed to operation 1110 during which the identifiedbest antenna may be used as a receive and transmit antenna. Accordingly,the first wireless communications device may use the identified bestantenna as a receive and transmit antenna to receive and transmit a nextdata packet or frame from and to the second wireless communicationsdevice. In this way, a best transmit antenna may be identified and usedfor the communications link and frequency channel used by the first andsecond wireless communications devices.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example of a data packet, configured inaccordance with various embodiments. In various embodiments, a datapacket as shown in FIG. 12, such as data packet 1200, may be a Bluetoothor BLE data packet. Accordingly, data packet 1200, may have preamble1202, access address, 1204, as well as components of a protocol dataunit (PDU) such as PDU header 1206 and PDU payload 1208. Data packet1200 may also include message integrity check (MIC_ 1210, as well ascyclic redundancy check (CRC) 1212. In various embodiments, data packet1200 further includes CTE portion 1214, also referred to herein as asupplemental portion. As discussed above, the antenna diversitytechniques disclosed herein may be implemented during this period. Alsoshown in FIG. 12 is additional detail of the packet header which mayinclude logical link identifier (LLID) 1216, Next Expected SequenceNumber (NESN) 1218, sequence number (SN) 1220, more data (MD) 1222, CTEinfo Present (CP) or also referred to as Supplemental Present (SP) bit1224, reserved for future use (RFU) 1226, length identifier 1228, andCTE information or also referred to as supplemental information 1230.

Although the foregoing concepts have been described in some detail forpurposes of clarity of understanding, it will be apparent that certainchanges and modifications may be practiced within the scope of theappended claims. It should be noted that there are many alternative waysof implementing the processes, systems, and devices. Accordingly, thepresent examples are to be considered as illustrative and notrestrictive.

1-20. (canceled)
 21. A first wireless communications device comprising:a plurality of antennas; a transceiver coupled to the plurality ofantennas and configured to send and receive Bluetooth data packets; anda processor configured to: in a first mode, calculate an angle ofarrival (AoA) or an angle of departure (AoD) associated with theplurality of antennas; and in a second mode, send Bluetooth data packetsto and receive Bluetooth data packets from a second wirelesscommunications device using at least a first antenna of the plurality ofantennas, wherein the first antenna is selected from the plurality ofantennas by the processor based on one of a first plurality of signalmeasurements of a connection between the first and second wirelesscommunications devices, and wherein the first plurality of signalmeasurements comprises antenna diversity data.
 22. The first wirelesscommunications device of claim 21, wherein the antenna diversity datafurther includes a first connection link identifier configured toidentify the connection between the first and second wirelesscommunication devices, and wherein the antenna diversity data is sortedand stored.
 23. The first wireless communications device of claim 21,wherein the antenna diversity data further includes a first frequencychannel identifier configured to identify a frequency band that is usedin the connection between the first and second wireless communicationdevices, and wherein the antenna diversity data is sorted and stored.24. The first wireless communications device of claim 21, wherein thefirst plurality of signal measurements corresponds to a designatedportion of a first Bluetooth data packet and the designated portion is acontinuous tone extension (CTE) portion of the first Bluetooth datapacket.
 25. The first wireless communications device of claim 21,wherein the first plurality of signal measurements is made bydetermining a signal strength or signal quality between each antenna ofthe plurality of antennas and the second wireless communications device,and wherein the first antenna is selected by identifying an antennabased on the signal strength or signal quality.
 26. The first wirelesscommunications device of claim 21, wherein the first antenna is used totransmit a next Bluetooth data packet based on the antenna diversitydata.
 27. The first wireless communications device of claim 21, whereinthe processor is further configured to: send Bluetooth data packets toand receive data from a third wireless communications device via atleast a second antenna of the plurality of antennas, wherein the secondantenna is selected by the processor based on one of a second pluralityof signal measurements between the first and third wirelesscommunications devices.
 28. The first wireless communications device ofclaim 27, wherein the processor is configured to select the secondantenna by: determining a signal strength or signal quality between eachantenna of the plurality of antennas and the third wirelesscommunications device; and identifying an antenna based on the signalstrength or signal quality.
 29. A system comprising: a plurality ofantennas; a host processor; an integrated circuit chip comprising: atransceiver coupled to the plurality of antennas and configured to sendand receive Bluetooth data packets in accordance with a Bluetoothprotocol; a processor configured to: in a first mode, calculate an angleof arrival (AoA) or an angle of departure (AoD) associated with theplurality of antennas; and in a second mode, send data to and receiveBluetooth data packets from a wireless communications device via atleast a first antenna of the plurality of antennas, wherein the firstantenna is selected from the plurality of antennas by the processorbased on one of a first plurality of signal measurements between theplurality of antennas and the wireless communications device, andwherein the first plurality of signal measurements comprises antennadiversity data.
 30. The system of claim 29, wherein the first pluralityof signal measurements corresponds to a continuous tone extension (CTE)portion of at least one of the Bluetooth data packets.
 31. The system ofclaim 29, wherein the antenna diversity data further includes a firstconnection link identifier configured to identify a connection betweenthe system and the wireless communication device, and wherein theantenna diversity data is sorted and stored.
 32. The system of claim 29,wherein the antenna diversity data further includes a first frequencychannel identifier configured to identify a frequency band that is usedin a connection between the system and the wireless communicationdevice, and wherein the antenna diversity data is sorted and stored. 33.The system of claim 29, wherein the integrated circuit chip is amonolithic chip.
 34. The system of claim 29, wherein the processor isfurther configured to: send Bluetooth data packets to and receiveBluetooth data packets from an additional wireless communications devicevia at least a second antenna of the plurality of antennas, wherein thesecond antenna is selected by the processor based on one of a secondplurality of signal measurements between the plurality of antennas andthe additional wireless communications device and wherein the secondplurality of signal measurements are sorted and stored as the antennadiversity data.
 35. The system of claim 34, wherein the processor isconfigured to select the second antenna by: determining a signalstrength or a signal quality between each antenna of the plurality ofantennas and the additional wireless communications device; andidentifying an antenna having a designated signal strength or signalquality.
 36. A method of operating a wireless device, comprising:receiving a first plurality of signals via each of a plurality ofantennas at a first wireless communications device; determining, using aprocessor, a first signal measurement for each of the plurality ofantennas, the first signal measurement comprising a signal strength orsignal quality measurement; sorting the first signal measurements of theplurality of antennas; storing the sorted first signal measurements in amemory as antenna diversity data; identifying, using the processor, afirst antenna based on the antenna diversity data; and selecting, usingthe processor, the first antenna for communication with a secondwireless communications device, wherein at least the receiving anddetermining correspond to a designated portion of a Bluetooth datapacket.
 37. The method of claim 36, wherein the designated portion is acontinuous tone extension (CTE) of the Bluetooth data packet, andwherein the first antenna has a designated signal strength or signalquality.
 38. The method of claim 36, wherein the determining a signalmeasurement for each of the plurality of antennas further comprises:determining a signal-to-interference-plus-noise (SINK) ratio for each ofthe plurality of antennas.
 39. The method of claim 36, wherein theantenna diversity data further includes a first connection linkidentifier configured to identify a connection between the first andsecond wireless communication devices and a first frequency identifierconfigured to identify a frequency band that is used in the connectionbetween the first and second wireless communication devices.
 40. Themethod of claim 36 further comprising: receiving a second plurality ofsignals via each of the plurality of antennas at the first wirelesscommunications device; determining, using the processor, a second signalmeasurement for each of the plurality of antennas, the second signalmeasurement comprising a signal strength or signal quality measurement;sorting the second signal measurements of the plurality of antennas;storing the sorted second signal measurements in the memory as theantenna diversity data; and selecting, using the processor, a secondantenna based on the antenna diversity data, the second antenna beingused for communication with a third wireless communications device.